Yianni Cartledge inspired by primary sources held in Flinders University’s Dunstan Collection produced a historical project as part of his degree in education.

His essay which traced back the Greek migrants from the island of Ikaria who settled in South Australia, won him the Wakefield Companion to SA History Undergraduate Essay Prize. More exciting was that Yianni found a new ancestor.

Investigating allocated source material on immigration in the University Library’s Special Collections, Yianni Cartledge traced back the history of the Ikarian community in Adelaide as far back as 1910 and in the process discovered he had a long lost relative his family knew little about.

“I knew my great-great grandfather had been in South Australia as our family has a strong oral history, however, I did not know the nature and extent of his time here,” Yianni Cartledge told Neos Kosmos.

“I came across his records as I chose the Ikarians of SA as one of my case studies and thought it would be good to start researching surnames that were familiar to me.”

As South Australia was becoming a hot-spot for Ikarians, his great-great grandfather Ioannis (John) Gronthos took the leap in 1911 with his brother, brother-in-law and nephew. Arriving at Port Adelaide and settling in Port Pirie, John worked at the BHP smelters and became a naturalised Australian citizen in 1929. His great-great grandfather returned permanently to Greece in the 1930s and it took 20 years until his son migrated to Australia with his children – who included Yianni’s grandfather. This part of the story was not known to the family.

“It has made me feel quite connected to my research, and motivated to continue digging deeper into the project. History was always my main focus and separate from my language studies,” Yianni who completed a Bachelor of Education and Arts between 2013-2017, majoring in history and Modern Greek language explained. In 2018, he went on to do a History Honours thesis looking at the Chios Massacre and British attitudes towards the Greeks during the period. In 2020, he began his PhD, which was a natural progression.

A trove of materials

Yianni uncovered much material in the form of text, photographs and interviews, including the records of the local Ikarian community club, founded in 1958, as well as a Greek book that featured photos of Ikaria from the late 19th century up to the 1960s.

Trying to find accurate information with very limited resources, he realised there are many challenges accessing archived records such as shipping registers, migration papers and naturalisation files, something that became even more prominent amidst COVID-19 restrictions.

“Access to archives and source material is fairly easy through National Archives Australia (NAA), National Library of Australia, and State Records of South Australia, as well as libraries and archives in the UK,” he explained adding that during the height of the pandemic, most archives were closed for six months or more.

“Some files need to be digitised which comes at a cost, but the catalogues can give a good idea of what is out there.”

The main issue, especially with Greek immigrations comes from spelling variants; or a lack of records altogether. Sometimes the information is just not there, and one can only rely on educated guesses.

“As for spelling variants, my ancestor’s name was Ioannis. I found records under the first names Ioannis, Joannis, Giannis, Yianni, John, Jno (abbreviation of John), and Jean (French spelling), as well as multiple variations of his surname,” Yianni said.

According to Yianni, it all depends on which archives have been kept or are being accessed, and the nature of one’s migration. For Greeks in Australia, the best sources are naturalisation papers and shipping registers (via NAA and State Records), as well as newspapers like Trove.

“However, some Greeks were ‘ship jumpers’, and left no trace of their arrival,” he adds.

“Archival material can sometimes also be inaccurate due to the language skills of the migrant or the understanding of the immigration officer who was often recording the information. Thus, sometimes you have to read between the lines – this is usually done by having a good understanding of the period and the context in Greece and in Australia.”

DNA tests are another way

Another way to uncover ancestral history for those looking is DNA tests, something he has done and describes as an interesting experience that can connect us with relatives and offer more information about one’s extended family tree, especially in cases of loss of trace or adoption.

“The best avenues are to start with an ancestor you know, and work backwards,” Yianni points out. “Try accessing as many records as you can, learn as many spelling variants of their names as possible -first and last, and even reach out to the relevant communities that they may have had some links to. There are also online support groups that help to locate ancestors.”

It is evident that more and more individuals of Greek heritage in the Anglosphere are looking into their roots. Given that Greece is one of the European countries that have not kept detailed records throughout history more searchable databases in Greek and English are needed.

As a result of war and the Asia Minor catastrophe hundreds of thousands of people have little information about their family, added to that the misspelling of names during settlement makes research hard.

“Migration stories are important and will be naturally kept alive as they are the fabric of modern Australian history,” Yianni stresses.

“I believe it is important to continue delving into migration stories and especially applying critical lenses so that we can continue to grow the dialogue and make sense of the past. In this way, us as Australians can better understand ourselves, and position ourselves within wider history. We can also better understand the story of our ancestors, as well as the challenges that new migrants face in our nation.”

Yianni is currently completing a PhD looking at Aegean islander migrants to the English-speaking world between 1815-1945 focused on two main case studies which are the Chiots of London (1815-1900) and the Ikarians of South Australia (1900-1945) due to be submitted next year. For more information contact yianni.cartledge@flinders.edu.au